Window Mountain Lake

May 27, 2018. A bike-and-hike to a backcountry mountain lake in the Crowsnest Pass. Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina and Blackfoot First Nations. Distance: 22 km round-trip (18 km biking, 4 km hiking round-trip distance from the signed trailhead) Total Ascent: 632 m (includes a some significant gain and loss during the […]

Prairie Bluff / Corner Mountain (South Ridge Route)

May 21, 2018. An easy scrambling route up a popular peak in the Castle Wilderness. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Ktunaxa, and Tsuu T’ina First Nations. Distance: 7.4 km round trip Total Ascent: 722 m Elevation of objective: 2255 m Time: 3h 16m Safety and Disclaimer Topographic map of my route (red line) and other possible routes […]

Carbondale Hill

March 17, 2018. A rewarding snowshoe trip up to a fire lookout in the Castle Wilderness. (see November 2019 update below for a shoulder-season report, and the May 2020 update for a summer hike with kids report) Distance: 9 km round-trip (winter distance due to road closure) Total Ascent: 496 m Elevation of Objective: 1798 m Total […]

Island Ridge

March 11, 2018. A snowshoe trip up a low mountain in the Crowsnest Pass with moderate elevation gain, in challenging snow conditions. This is a trip I’ve been sizing up since the beginning of the winter. It’s described by Dave McMurray on his amazing Peaks and Streams blog, which drew the attention of Andrew Nugara, […]

Tunnel Mountain and Stoney Squaw Mountain

February 10 & 11, 2018. Two easy snowshoe trips to the tops of a pair of low mountains in Banff. I had a conference in Banff over the past weekend, so part of my preparation was making some plans to snowshoe. There was a winter storm which rolled through the province just before the start […]

Wedge Mountain Trail

January 26, 2018. A solo, easy snowshoe trip to the shoulder of a low mountain in the Crowsnest Pass, with a challenging extension up towards the summit. Wedge Mountain, the so-called “poor man’s Crowsnest Mountain”, was my objective on my latest outing in the Crowsnest Pass. It has a wide, easy trail that begins by […]

Grass Pass to “Sheep Summit”

January 5, 2018. A snowshoe trip to an unnamed high point in the Highwood region of Kananaskis Country. Safety and Disclaimer Southern Alberta is about one week out from its most recent major snow dump. I spent most of December 30, 2017 shovelling snow off various driveways. Actually, I can’t ever remember spending so much […]